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Tuesday, 30 May 2017

517) Sinhagad, Fort: A Special Cover issued by Maharashtra Postal Circle of India Post on 29.04.2017:

517)
Sinhagad, Fort: A Special Cover issued by Maharashtra Postal Circle of India
Post on 29.04.2017:

This historical fort
is located about 30 kilometres Southwest of Pune city, in the Indian
State of Maharashtra.

The fort is situated on an isolated cliff
of the “Bhuleswar Range” of the “Sahyadri” Mountains at a height of about
760 metres above ground level and about 1,312 metres above mean sea level.

Owing to its location, the
fort has a built-in natural protection with very steep slopes as such,
the walls and bastions were constructed at only key places as the fort was
considered to be impregnable.

The fort is also
strategically located at the centre of several other forts like Rajgad,
Purandar and Torna forts.

Because
of its strategic importance, the Mughals and other rulers captured this fort
several times, but the Marathas recaptured it several times, as well, at
regular intervals.

It was previously called “Kondhana
fort”, but after the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670, its name was
changed to “Sinhagad” (meaning the “Lion’s Fort”).

The fort got its earlier
name “Kondhana” after the sage
“Kaundinya”. Inside the fort, the Kaundinyeshwar
Temple, the caves and the carvings all go to indicate that
the fort was built about 2,000 years ago.

In 1328, it was
captured from the Koli tribal chieftain Nag Naik by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the
Delhi Sultan.

Shahaji
Bhosale (the father of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) who was the commander of
Ibrahim Adil Shah I’s army was entrusted with the supervision and control of
Pune region.

His son Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj however, refused to accept the Adilshahi and began the task
of establishing “Swarajya” (meaning
“self – rule” or “independence”) and began to take over control of forts
around Pune.

Beginning with Torna fort in
1646, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj set sights on and gained control of
Kondhana in 1647, by convincing Siddi Amber, who controlled Kondhana
fort that he (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) could manage the fort’s defences
optimally. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was ably assisted in this scheme by
Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande (a general in the early Maratha Empire during the
reign of Shivaji Maharaj – he is best remembered for playing a major role
during the first and second recapturing attempts of Kondhana Fort in 1647 and
1856 respectively).

Adil
Shah imprisoned Siddi Amber for his treason and also Shahaji Bhosale for a
concocted crime.

In 1649,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj relinquished control of the Kondhana Fort in
exchange for his father’s release.

In 1656, Shivaji
Maharaj recaptured Kondhana fort through peaceful means again with the help of
Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande, who convinced the Fort commander by giving land in the
newly created Khed Shivapur village established by him in the South of
Pune and persuading many Maratha and Muslim families to settle down in this
newly developed village.

From 1662 to 1665,
the Mughals attacked Kondhana fort
several times, but without any success.

On 11.06.1665,
through the Treaty of Purandhar, signed between Jai Singh I, the Rajput
Commander of the Mughal forces and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the control of
Kondhana fort was ceded to the Mughals.

Till 1689, the fort
remained in the possession of the Marathas and after the passing away of
Chhatrapati Sambhaji, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son, the Mughals occupied
the fort again.

In 1693, the
Marathas headed by Sardar Balkawade recaptured the fort.

In 1700, during a
Mughal raid on Satara, Chhatrapati Rajaram Bhosale, (the younger son of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and a half-brother of Chhatrapati Sambhaji), who
had created havoc in the Mughal armies at various locations and cut off their
lines of communication, took shelter in the fort, but he passed away
suffering from a lung disease.

In 1703, the fort
went into the possession of the Mughal Empire, only to be recaptured by the
Marathas in 1706.

In 1818, the
British took control of this fort after sustaining heavy casualties and only
after a fierce three month defence by the Maratha garrison stationed here.

The
legendary “Battle of Sinhagad” - 1670:

The
tale of how the legendary Maratha General Tanaji Malusare captured Sinhagad-Kondana
for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is one of the most heroic and exciting stories
in the annals of Maratha history.

The story goes that Tanaji was getting his son
married in his home-town, when he received an urgent message from Shivaji Maharaj
that he was required to come immediately to Pune. Upon his arrival in Pune, he
was ushered into the presence of Shivaji’s mother Jijabai who asked him “Why
does Kondhana still fly the enemy flag when most of the surrounding territories
are with us?” Tanaji is said to have
replied “Ma sahib, not for long will it fly the enemy flag”.

This was followed by a
conference of Shivaji Maharaj with his Generals, and no solution could emerge
for a long time, as Sinhagad was a well-fortified fort except from the Donagiri
cliff, which was considered to be unscalable. The impasse was broken with Tanaji
coming out with a bold and outrageous plan.

He along with some 500
soldiers would scale the Donagiri Cliff at night, while Suryaji, his brother,
would wait outside the “Kalyan Darwaja”
in the South-east of the fort with his army of some 8,000 soldiers. The small
Maratha force was up against about 20,000 Mughal defenders and irregulars. The plan was that after Tanaji’s small
force had scaled the Donagiri cliff, they would attempt to open the Kalyan
Darwaja for Suryaji to enter.

The
Battle:

Tanaji threw up a monitor
lizard “Yeshwanti” (colloquially
called “Ghorpad”), but she failed to
grasp the stony walls of the cliff. Some soldiers who considered this to be a
bad omen were admonished by Tanaji. On the third try, Yeshwanti got a firm hold
of the cliff wall and most of Tanaji’s force rappelled up the cliff before they
were discovered by the Mughal Defenders who raised an alarm.

Soon the swift-footed Maratha
soldiers found themselves engaged in fierce battles with a horde of defenders
who outnumbered them 20 to 1, but somehow managed to reach the centre of the
fort. Here Tanaji was engaged by Udaybhan Singh Rathod, a Rajput chieftain who
was the commander of the Kondana fort. Both were skilful in the art of swordsmanship
and Tanaji was martyred in the battle, but not before mortally wounding
Udaybhan Singh Rathod, who was finally killed by another Maratha General Shelar
Mama, who rallied the remaining troops to fight the Mughals with great valour
and move forward to open the “KalyanDarwaja” which was their original
mission.

The small Maratha force suffered
great casualties and although greatly outnumbered, they stayed their ground and
managed to open “Kalyan Darwaja”
enabling Suryaji’s army to enter the fort through the Kalyan Gate. The Mughal
defenders, thought that they were under attack from all sides and with surprise
on their side, Suryaji’s men won a memorable battle.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
is said to have remarked after the fort was captured: “Gadh
aala, panh Sinha gela” (meaning “We gained the fort but lost the lion” and he changed the name of the fort from
Kondana to “Sinhagad” (meaning the “Lion’s Fort”). He also made immediate
arrangements for Tanaji’s son’s marriage to be solemnised.

A
personal experience:

I had taken some notes
with me during my first visit to Sinhagad fort in 2007, to trace the
route of the historic rappelling by Tanaji Malusare’s small force, when a
gentleman accosted me asking me, whether I was trying to reconstruct the
sequence of historic battle of Sinhagad to which I answered in the affirmative.

He shared he was a Professor of history in a
local college in Pune and that he had read several texts on how the Battle of
Sinhagad was engaged with the Mughal defenders.

We discussed every part of
the battle, the fortifications, the war-elephants, the weaponry used and the
route taken by Tanaji’s force, how he himself was engaged in a one-to-one
combat with the Rajput Commander of the Fort and where he was martyred and how
the Kalyan gate was breached and the fort captured.

It was as if we had been
transported back in time and were witnessing the legendary battle “live”.
Little did we realise, that a huge crowd had gathered around us listening to
our intense discussion/narrative. At the end of our exciting discussion, we
shook hands and parted even as the onlookers clapped in appreciation.

We were both secure in the
knowledge and mutual appreciation that we shared a common interest in the
legends Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his brave Generals.

Inside
the Sinhagad fort:

The fort has two gates –
the “Kalyan Darwaja” in the
South-east and “Pune Darwaja” in the
North-east.

If one enters through Kalyan Darwaja one reaches the Dev tank which provides clean refreshing
water at all times. To the West is the Donagiri
cliff now popularly known as “Tanaji
Kada”, as this was the side from where Tanaji and his small force scaled
the hill with the help of Yeshwanti, an iguana/monitor lizard. The “Zunjar” bastion, the “Kalavanti”
bastion and the Tanaji memorial are all places that we have visited several
times.

To the East is the Ganesh tank, while a
memorial to Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj has been erected to the North. At the
centre of the Fort are the “Amriteshwar” Temple
and the ruins of the palace.

A
Special Cover issued by Maharashtra Postal Circle of India Post on 29.04.2017:

The Special Cover issued on
Sinhagad Fort

It shows at left two
images of the Sinhagad fort – one showing its main entrance gate and the other
the Sinhagad Fort located atop an isolated cliff in the “Bhuleswar Range”. To
its right is the inscription “Special Cover”, “Sinhagad Kila” (in Hindi) and “Sinhagad Fort” (in English).

At the top right is a 500
Paise or Rs.5/- stamp commemorating the Bicentenary of thr raising of Poona Horse, a Regiment which has acquited itself memorably over the years.

The cancellation stamp is
inscribed “Sinhagad Kila” (in Hindi)
and “Sinhagad Fort” (in
English). In the centre is an image of a
Maratha warrior, symbolising the indomitable spirit of the warriors of the
Maratha Empire. The Cancellation is of Pune H.O. and is dated “29.04.2017” .

The Back of the Special Cover reads inter alia:"Sinhagad Fort is the highest peak of Bhuleswar, located about 20 km away from Pune in South-East. Departing from the main ranges of Sahyadri, Bhuleswar Branch has extended from South of Pune toeards East. It is an ancient Fort in Pune district. It is at 1317 metres above the sea-level. In 1670, Narveer Tanaji Malusare brought back this Fort in "Swarajya" at the cost of his life. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in grief said "I conquered the fort but lost the Lion (Tanaji)".The logo of India Post and Maharashtra Postal Circle is at the lower bottom. The approval number of this Cover is MH/12/2017

The Front of the customised protective jacket in which the Special Cover is placed

The Back of the customised protective jacket in which the Special Cover is placed

The Kalyan Darwaja on Sinhagad Fort

An Amar Chitra Katha recounting of the legend of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Yes, Krishnayya. It was a pleasant surprise. We really enjoyed our tour of this historic fort throwing questions and counter questions at each other. I had read about this historic fort since I was in school. A lot of gaps in my knowledge were bridged by him. It would really be nice to have you over for a visit seeing your interest in the history of the Rajput legends Bappa Rawal & Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Maratha Empire. I have studied in detail some four or five of the famous battles, by actually visiting some important forts and retracing the course of events which took place there which went on to shape Indian history.

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .